COMFORT ZONE• A renovation gives an urban town house more space,
a fresh look, and welcome access to a delightful private courtyard

alph waldo emerson wrote that
“every spirit builds itself a house.” His
musings on the nature of mankind may
have run deeper than brick and mortar,
but for those who love architecture, it
is an apt metaphor. And if a spirit built
this house on Boston’s Beacon Hill, it
no doubt gives a happy sigh every time the summer sun dapples the brick walls of the reinvented back courtyard.

R

design and cabinetry: the kennebec company

Until Bruce Armitage and Leo Xarras bought the 1820s
town house and embarked on a renovation four years ago,
the 30-by-18-foot yard, accessible only through a lower-level
utility room, was relegated to the status of back alley.

Armitage and Xarras, who own Castle Hill Resort and
Spa in Cavendish, Vermont, were looking to replace the tiny
kitchen on their home’s street-level first floor. “There was just
an electric stove, a sink, and a fridge,” says Armitage of the
1940s installation with a dearth of counter space. The lower
level with its access to the outdoors was, they agreed, the

the maple cabinets
are painted white and
finished with simple
hardware that is in
keeping with the
early-20th-century
sensibilities of the
overall design.